December 9, 2005

December 9, 2005

Yuma, Arizona to Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico & return

YEAR 2 DAY 175

 

Happy 1st Anniversary, Bo.

 

Today was sunny and warm. I should just cut and paste that to save myself the trouble of typing it on a daily basis. HA HA HA !

This morning while I did preventive maintenance Joanne phoned the Post Office to find out if it is possible to redirect our mail from Benson, Arizona to here. Sure ... no problem ... costs $1.00. That increases the likelihood that we will decide on Monday to stay here for a month.

We set off for a day trip to Los Algodones on the Baja California peninsula of Mexico. We were told that it's 20 miles to Los Algodones. It's actually closer than we thought. What we didn't know was that more than half of that was just getting through Yuma. Once on the other side of Yuma, it was only a few miles to the California border, then another few miles into California we turned south for a mile or so, and we were at the Mexican border. We parked in a gigantic parking lot, and walked across the border into Los Algodones.

First we found the dentist's office where we had appointments later in the afternoon. Then we went into a couple of different pharmacies to get prices on the prescription medications we were looking for. Four prescriptions medicines for me and one for Teddy. After all we had heard about the low prices in Mexico for prescription medications, we were disappointed to find that 2 of the 5 prescription medications we wanted weren't available in Mexico, 2 were more expensive in Mexico than in Canada, and one was cheaper. We bought a year's worth of Teddy's medication, for about 2/3 of the price in Canada. We noticed another customer complaining that the prices were more expensive in Mexico than back home in Alberta. I guess the savings on prescriptions are significant for Americans, but not for Canadians. I wonder why prescription medications are so much more expensive in the U.S. than in Canada or Mexico ?

We wandered around the town, running the gauntlet of hawkers. It was mostly filled with dentist's offices, pharmacies, and opticians, as well as shops selling tourist type stuff. We bought a gift, and a Christmas table cloth. We went into a nice restaurant for lunch. Joanne ordered herself a $2 Margarita. It was huge ! I ordered an entree with a name I didn’t recognize. It was time for an adventure. I don’t know what the hell it was, but it sure was good ! After lunch we wandered around, shopping some more. We went into a grocery / liquor store. They were giving out samples of different liquors. I sampled a straight shot of tequila. AY CARUMBA ! I quickly sucked hard on a piece of lime. Joanne bought a tub of chocolates. I saw a young man in front of me buy a package of cigarettes. They cost $1.00 ! ! ! I couldn’t resist trying them. I bought a pack. I smoked one just before supper. YEEESH ! ! ! They should sell them as a smoking cessation aid !

The commercial district of Los Algodones is 5 blocks square. In those 5 square blocks there are 350 dentists ! We went to one of the larger dental offices, recommended to us by residents here at Kofa Co-op. It was the same as a dentist's office in Canada. There were 2 dentists, 7 hygienists, and a receptionist. A cleaning and examination were U.S.$40, about $47 Canadian, for the same service that costs $175 in Canada ! At the smaller, one dentist offices, set up in 2 small rooms, about a 100 sq. ft. reception area and a similar sized dental office, examinations and cleanings are U.S.$20 ! ! ! I was pleasantly surprised by a few things. The equipment and techniques are more “high tech.” then our dentist in Ottawa, who was quite “upscale”. The hygienist worked faster than I’m used to. They stick precisely to their schedule. We arrived, and were ushered in to examining rooms at exactly 2:30. The hygienist was finished with me at 3:10, the dentist arrived to conduct an examination, and I was out in the reception area by 3:15. Joanne was finished ahead of me and was already paying the bill.

We walked around town a bit more, stopping at a bakery we had seen earlier. I picked up a tray, and tongs, and wandered around the self serve bakery, loading up my tray ... and I do mean loading. I’m a baking junkie. Joanne and I were stunned when the cashier loaded up a large bag with my cookies and pastries, and said the bill was ... wait for it ... $4.00 !

We walked back across the border into the U.S., to where our truck was parked. We drove back to Yuma, stopping to pick up some information at the Tourist Information Centre, stopping at a very upscale RV resort to get a brochure and rate sheet, then drove around, exploring the area near the Kofa Co-op SKP Park.

When we got back to the trailer, we took Bo and Teddy for a walk. Teddy seems to really like being outdoors here. Warm temperatures, low humidity, lots of sand and gravel to flop over in. I worked on today’s accounting while munching on a big Mexican cookie. We had supper, then I worked on this journal entry while Joanne washed dishes. I read last year’s journal entry from this date, out loud. This is the anniversary of the day we got Bo. It’s been a long year ! HA HA HA ! Sorry, Bo ... I’m kidding. We’re very glad to have Bo.

DSK